Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West (The Center for Ethics and Culture Solzhenitsyn Series)

About this book

These essays will interest readers familiar with the work of Nobel Prizewinner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and are a great starting point for those eager for an introduction to the great Russians work. When people think of Russia today they tend to gravitate toward images of Soviet domination or more recently Vladimir Putins war against Ukraine. The reality however is that despite Russias political failures its rich history of culture religion and philosophical reflectioneven during the darkest days of the Gulaghave been a deposit of wisdom for American artists religious thinkers and political philosophers probing what it means to be human in America. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn stands out as the key figure in this conversation as both a Russian literary giant and an exile from Russia living in America for two decades. This anthology reconsiders Solzhenitsyns work from a variety of perspectiveshis faith his politics and the influences and context of his literatureto provide a prophetic vision for our current national confusion over universal ideals. In Solzhenitsyn and American Culture: The Russian Soul in the West David P. Deavel and Jessica Hooten Wilson have collected essays from the foremost scholars and thinkers of comparative studies who have been tracking what Americans have borrowed and learned from Solzhenitsyn and his fellow Russians. The book offers a consideration of what we have in commonthe truth goodness and beauty America has drawn from Russian culture and from masters such as Solzhenitsynand will suggest to readers what we can still learn and what we must preserve. The last section expands the books theme and reach by examining the impact of other notable Russian authors including Pushkin Dostoevsky and Gogol. Contributors: David P. Deavel Jessica Hooten Wilson Nathan Nielson Eugene Vodolazkin David Walsh Matthew Lee Miller Ralph C. Wood Gary Saul Morson Edward E. Ericson Jr. Micah Mattix Joseph Pearce James F. Pontuso Daniel J. Mahoney William Jason Wallace Lee Trepanier Peter Leithart Dale Peterson Julianna Leachman Walter G. Moss and Jacob Howland.